Both missiles and torpedoes could be equipped with nuclear warheads. A single Type 65 torpedo carried a 450 kg (990 lb) warhead powerful enough to sink an aircraft carrier. : 22–23 It was built to defeat an entire United States aircraft carrier group. They are the second-largest cruise missile submarines ever built, after some Ohio-class submarine ballistic missile submarines were converted to carry cruise missiles in 2007. The Antey design represented the highest achievement of Soviet nuclear submarine technology. Kursk was assigned to the home port of Vidyayevo, Murmansk Oblast. K-141 was inherited by Russia and launched in 1994, before being commissioned by the Russian Navy on December 30, as part of the Russian Northern Fleet. In 1993 K-141 was named Kursk after the Battle of Kursk in the 50-year anniversary of this battle. During the construction of K-141, the Soviet Union collapsed work continued, and she became one of the first naval vessels completed after the collapse. Construction began in 1990 at the Soviet Navy military shipyards in Severodvinsk, near Arkhangelsk, in the northern Russian SFSR. K-141 Kursk was a Project 949A class Antey ( Russian: Aнтей, meaning Antaeus) submarine of the Oscar class, known as the Oscar II by its NATO reporting name, and was the penultimate submarine of the Oscar II class designed and approved in the Soviet Union. On 12 August 2000, K-141 Kursk was lost when it sank in the Barents Sea, killing all 118 personnel on board.Ĭonstruction Silhouette of an Oscar-II class submarine Atomnaya Podvodnaya Lodka "Kursk" (APL "Kursk"), meaning "Atomic-powered submarine Kursk") was an Oscar II-class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine of the Russian Navy. Raised from the seafloor (except bow), towed to shipyard, and dismantledġ3,400 to 16,400 tonnes (13,200 to 16,100 long tons 14,800 to 18,100 short tons) Ģ OK-650b nuclear reactors ( HEU <= 45% ), 2 steam turbines, two 7-bladed propellersģ2 knots (59 km/h 37 mph) submerged, 16 knots (30 km/h 18 mph) surfacedģ00 to 500 m (980 to 1,640 ft) by various estimatesĢ4 × SS-N-19/P-700 Granit, 4 × 533 mm (21 in) and 2 × 650 mm (26 in) torpedo tubes (bow) 24 torpedoes For the Kansas state highway, see K-141 (Kansas highway).Īll 118 hands lost in 100 m (330 ft) of water in Barents Sea on 12 August 2000 Like so many aspects of the Russian Navy submarine fleet, we are kept guessing."K-141" redirects here. But that is not to say it couldn’t be done. If so (and it seems likely), then it could involve major renovations. Possibly some modernization work would be required if not all of the missile tubes are currently active. So whether or not Dmitry Donskoy currently carries part of Russia’s nuclear deterrent, it seems that it could if called upon. And it has been observed at a weapons pier specially designed for loading and unloading nuclear missiles. It frequently joins other Russian Navy vessels on exercises. Under this all of the tubes have to be counted even if not used.Įven if it only has one missile tube ready there is no denying that the giant submarine is still active. The difference to the Russian Ministry of Defense information may reflect their status under New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty). But there have been persistent rumors that only one or two tubes were upgraded to allow it to act as a test bed. Officially, per the Russian Ministry of Defense website ( in Russian), it has a capability for 20 of the missiles.
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